Today’s readings: Jeremiah 40, Habakkuk 1-2, Psalm 70.
Habakkuk 2:1-4
I will take my stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the tower,
and look out to see what he will say to me,
and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
2 And the Lord answered me:
“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for it;
it will surely come; it will not delay.
4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but the righteous shall live by his faith.
Habakkuk 2:4 is quoted by St. Paul in Romans 1:17 and became a linchpin in Martin Luther’s rediscovery of the Gospel. Luther struggled with God’s righteousness, understanding it primarily as the justice by which a righteous God judges sinners. Deeply convicted of his sin, he could find no peace. He later recalled, “I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners.”
That changed as he wrestled with Romans 1:16–17:
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”
That quotation comes from Habakkuk 2:4. Luther came to understand God’s righteousness not merely as that by which God judges, but as the righteousness God gives to the sinner through faith. He later said he felt “altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates.”
But back in Habakkuk, verse 4 can seem to hang in the middle of nowhere. What does “the righteous shall live by faith” have to do with Habakkuk’s situation?
Habakkuk was struggling with God’s announcement that he would use the wicked Babylonians to judge Judah. In 2:1 he essentially says, “I’m going to stand here and wait for God’s answer.” God responds: the vision is certain, but its fulfillment will take time. “If it seems slow, wait for it.”
Then comes verse 4, describing two ways of living while waiting for God to act:
“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but the righteous shall live by his faith.”
The arrogant Babylonian trusts his own strength and success. The verses that follow describe him as greedy and restless, conquering nations and gathering peoples to himself.
But the righteous shall live by faith. The righteous person trusts God’s promise—even when its fulfillment cannot yet be seen. Habakkuk cannot understand everything God is doing or see how God will make things right. But he has God’s Word: “If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come.”
This is what it means to be justified by grace through faith and to live in that faith. We trust God’s promises. We believe his Word. We trust that he is good and that he is for us and with us—even when we cannot see what he is doing.
Paul takes this little sentence from Habakkuk and unfolds it in Romans. We deserve God’s judgment because of our sin, but God reveals his boundless grace in Jesus Christ. Christ suffered and died for sinners, rose from the dead, and reigns forever. The righteousness we could never achieve is ours through faith in him. This was the Gospel truth that opened the gates of paradise for Luther.
And it is still how God’s people live. When we cannot see what God is doing and his promises seem slow in coming, the righteous live by faith. We cling to Christ and take God at his Word. What he has promised, he will surely fulfill.
Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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